A culinary tourist in my own back yard.

Cranberry Banana Nut Bread

Desire to learn

I didn’t grow up cooking. While I have memories of my mother and her mother canning and cooking together, and my paternal grandmother’s kitchen being a constant source of culinary goodness, I have no memory of helping. Or being taught any of the techniques or recipes I witnessed.

I want to say that things have changed for my kids. That they’ve been my kitchen helpers daily since they could hold a wooden spoon. But that’s not true. At all. Having never learned to cook at the side of a patient teacher, it’s been a struggle for me to find the patience to teach my own kids.

Thankfully, my 6 year old daughter is persistent. Very. She adores helping in the kitchen, and I have to say, it’s sometimes nice to have her help, now that she’s a bit older. Ditto her older brother, who isn’t as keen to jump in, but always helps when I ask. Being home educators helps, as they are here with me, all day, and are available to help out whenever.

After being feverish for a few days, Little Miss showed me that she was feeling better by insisting that we were going to make this loaf together. No ifs, ands or buts. And after a few nights with little sleep, I welcomed the help.

Cranberry Banana Nut Bread

I love that this recipe uses fresh cranberries rather than dried. Their tartness balances the sweetness of the bananas. The nuts give a nice earthy depth. I had locally grown butternuts on hand, which I’ve found to be similar to walnuts, but softer. Walnuts or pecans would be just fine.